1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to food utensils and, in particular, to utensils having portions configured for pushing, grasping and otherwise manipulating food.
2. Description of the Related Art
Specialized food utensils have long been used for cooking, handling and eating food. Tongs are food utensils that comprise two arms joined by a hinge. Chopsticks are food utensils that are traditionally independent arms used in pairs when cooking, handling and eating food. Conventional tong arms and chopsticks have proximal and distal ends, and are held by a user at a handling portion of the arm or chopstick near the proximal end thereof. A food-grabbing portion of the tong arm or chopstick is near the distal end thereof. Typically, chopsticks are smooth sticks used in pairs, held in one hand at the handling portions such that the food-grabbing portions may be used to push, grasp and/or carry food from a bowl or plate to the user's mouth. During cooking, the tongs or chopsticks may be used to stir, turn or otherwise manipulate food.
Many new users find traditional chopsticks difficult to use. Some of the difficulty arises from the fact that the sticks are not connected to each other and can be difficult to manipulate in one hand. To address this difficulty, it is known in the art to provide a mechanical hinge at or near the proximal ends of the chopsticks, so that the chopsticks resemble a miniature set of tongs. However, providing a hinge adds significantly to the cost of manufacturing chopsticks, and the use of hinged chopsticks may be looked down upon by users of traditional chopsticks.
Another difficulty in the use of chopsticks and tongs is that once food is caught between the sticks or arms, the food may easily slide or slip from the grasp due to the generally smooth surface of the sticks or arms. One approach to address this problem in a hinged chopstick utensil shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,454,328 is to provide cross-wise serrations in the food-grabbing portions of the two chopsticks in the utensil. The serrations are formed on flattened, mutually-facing (i.e., “inside”) surfaces of the chopsticks, and the serrated surfaces remain facing each other by virtue of the hinge formed by enlarged portions 25 and 28 and the axle 24. The inventor has discovered that serrations and other food-grabbing surface textures on conventional chopsticks meant to facilitate gripping food, such as grooves or dimples, have short-lived effectiveness because the serrations, grooves and dimples are typically sized such that they become impacted with food and then fail to provide a textured gripping surface. Accordingly, the inventor has discovered that a need exists for an improved food utensil that overcomes the shortcomings of conventional food utensils.